Button-attaching machine.



vL. E. POOLE. BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULYIOI 19w. RENEWED JUNE 5.1916.

1 1 92,682. Patented July 25, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I WITNESSES:

lNVE/VTOR Lora E oe he.

A TTORIVEV L. E. POOLE.

BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIO. I915. RENEWED JUNE 5, 1916.

1 1 92,682. Patented July 25; 1916.

5 S EETS-SHEET 2.

WI T/VESSE8:

Ill/VENTUR Lora E.Poo|e A TTOR/VEY L. E. POOLE.

BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY'O. 191s. RENEWED JUNE 5.191s.

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V BUTTON ATTACHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYIQ. ms. RENEWED JUNE 5.191s.

1,1 92,682. Patented July 25, 1916.

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L. E. POOLE.

v BUTTON ATT ACHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 1uLYI0,'19|5. RENEWED JUNE 5. 19I6.

1 ,1 92,682. Patented July 25, 1 916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5. F12 14-. I

WI T/VESSfS:

llVl/Ell/TOR Lora .E. Poole.

rinrrnn sr LORA E. POOLE, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO ANDERSON BUTTON ATTACH- ING MACHINE COMPANY, OF ANDERSON, INDIANA.

BUTTON-ATTACHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ma 25, rare.

Application filed July 10, 1915, Serial No. 39,077. Renewed June 5, 1916. Serial No. 101,873.

To all to 7mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lona E. POOLE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Anderson, county of Madison, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Button-Attaching Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters refer to like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for attaching buttons, and has for its object to provide a machine of this class, in which the buttons shall be fed either mechanically or by hand from a hopper into a slotted tube, by means of which they shall be conveyed to and held in the desired position. while wire is being fed through the eye of each successive button, with means for automatically paying off wire for each successive staple, also means by which the wire shall be severed and formed into staples, and by which the said staples shall be driven through the material or fabric to which the buttons are to be attached and clenched.

Another object of the invention relates to a feed finger having a pin which rides up over a button shoot gate for preventing the finger from kicking the button back up the shoot instead of gripping it.

Another feature of the invention pertains to a means for allowing the wire to be fed into the machine, cut off, and formed into a staple, only when a button is in position to be stapled. This prevents the stapling of the material or fabric without a button attached and causing a delay in removing the staples therefrom.

A further improvement in the machine is in the timing of the button feed lever so that it holds a button in a certain position long enough for the wire to be fed through the eye while the machine is still being operated.

Another object lies in a means for giving a yielding resistance to the staple former so as to protect the machinery and render accuracy of driving needless. This yielding resistance or spring tension holds the ram down and prevents the cut-off end of the wire from escaping the staple forming anvil and shooting out of either side of it instead .of clenching it, at thesame time permitting tion of the machine showing the opposite side from Fig. 1 with the button in position to have the wire fed through, and the pedestal removed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 4c is the same as Fig. 1 showing the machine in position to grip a button, with the pedestal removed. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the machine in idle position. Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 5 with the button in position to receive the wire. Fig. 7 is the same as Fig. 6 with the arm in position to grip a button and one button in position to be clamped. Fig. 8 is a perspective view in section showing the cut off ram and staple driver with the wire being fed in position. Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99 of Fig. 2 with the finger removed. Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1010 of Fig. 9 showing the wire formed into a staple. Fig. 11 is the same as Fig. 10 with the staple driven on the anvil. Fig. 12 is the same as Fig. 10 showing the staple fully clenched. Fig. 13 shows buttons before and after the staple is formed. Fig. 14 is a plan view of a portion of the machine on the line 1l14: of Fig. 2 showing the wire feeding mechanism. Fig. 15 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 14%. Fig. 16 is an enlarged view showing a section on the line 16-16 of Fig. 2. Fig. 17 is a section on the line 1717 of Fig. 14. Fig. 18 is a section on the line 1818 of Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a longitudinal section of the button gate on the line 1919 of Fig. 16. Fig. 20 is a section on the line 20 20 of Fig. 4:.

In the drawings there is shown a pedestal having a table 10 on which the mechanism is mounted, said table being secured to a base 11 by means of a hollow tube. A foot pedal 12 is fulerumed on the base at 13 and pivoted at lit to rod 15 extending through the hollow tube to cam disks 115 and pivoted thereto at 16. Said cam disks are mounted I in the frame 17 on a pin 18, and are held in their normal inoperative position by means of a spring 19 secured at its lower end to the hollow tube and at its other end to a rod 20-pivoted on said disks at 21.

Secured to the frame of the machine there is a hopper 22 adapted to receive a supply of buttons which it is desired to have fed into the machine. A feeding plate 23 operates through the bottom of said hopper, said hopper having a guiding slot 123 for guiding said plate 23. There is a slot 24 in the upper end of said plate for picking up the buttons in the hopper and arranging them preliminary to feeding the machine. Said plate is yieldingly held to the top of the pedestal. by a rod 124 extending therethrough and having a spring 25 below the table for resisting its upward movement and r a spring 26 above the same for limiting the downward movement of the plate 23. There is a plate spring 27 secured to the bottom of. the plate 23 adapted to be engaged by a roller 28 on said disks for elevating said plate so thatthe button slot 24 is in alinement with a button race 32 secured to the frame 17 as is shown in Fig. 7. On the other hand, if it is desired to feed buttons into the machine by hand, the plate may be elevated to the position shown in Fig. 7 and held in that position by a plate 29 pivoted in a slot in the side frame and engaging the slot 30. On the button race or slot of said plate there is a hood 31 to keep the buttons from'bouncing off when the feeding plate is suddenly elevated. Slanting downward from the hopper there is a button race 32 covered by a hood 33 for allowing the buttons to slide down in position to be gripped by the button feed finger 34. On said button race there is a button gate 35 which holds the button, as shown in Fig. 6, in readiness to be gripped by the feed finger. Said gate is pivoted at 36 and has two finger members 37, as shown in Fig. 3, one of which is adapted to engage the pin 38 on the said finger, as shown in Fig. 15, and elevate said finger to a position over the button where,

by means of the spring '39, the finger drops down on top of said button, as shown in Fig. 7, the pin passing through the opening be tween said fingers 37. The button is then carried downward by said feed finger. forcingthe gate fingers upward against the spring 40, which returns them to position in time to engage the following button and hold it until the said finger returns. Said finger is operated by the pedal 12 acting through the rod 15 on the disk 115 which turns about a quarter of a revolution; On said disk there is a pin 41 which extends between a plate spring 42 and the arm 43 which is fulcrumed at 44 and pivoted to the J feed finger on its opposite end. There is a screw 45 extending through the end of sa1d .spring 42 and lever 43 having a spring 46 disk adapted to be engaged bytwoprojections on the said staple driver, so that the movement of the disk will force the driver down toward the staple forming anvil 50;

The same'movement forcesthe cut off ram toward said anvil by means of a roller pin 51 on said disk engaging a cam lever 52 pivoted at 53, which in turn engages a' spring member 54, which is secured to the underside of said cut off ram. By means of the lever 52 engaging said spring, the force applied by the roller pin 51 is yieldingly resisted so that any thickness of material or fabric, which is inserted between the anvil and the out 01f ram may be used without inj uring the mechanism of the machine, as the spring tension allows the cut ofi ram to give to a certain degree when forced against the anvil.

There is a plate 55 extending outwardly from one side of the machine having a member 56 adapted to hold a coil of wire not shown. The wire 57 extends through a gripping finger 58, which is pivoted to a bell crank 59 at 60 and has a spring 61 for holding said finger against the wire when said lever is moved toward the machine and allowing said finger to slip loosely over the wire when said lever is forced away from the machine, by which means a certain length of wire is pushed into the cutting mechanism upon each'operation of the machine. Said crank 59 is fulcrumed to a stationary lip 62 secured to one side of the machine, and has a roller 64 upon the other end adapted to engage a cam 65 on one of said disks, which throws the gripping finger in position to grip another length of wire after its operation. There is a spring 66 secured to the lever and frame of the machine for pulling the gripper finger toward the machine to feed the wire. The wire 57 passes through a wire feed trip 67 before entering the cut off mechanism, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. There is a plate 68 having a groove through which the wire passes to be engaged therein by an eccentric cam 69 having an arm 70 adapted to be engaged by a pin'71 on the button feed lever. A spring 72 is secured to the plate 68 and to the arm 7 0 so as to return said arm when disengaged by said pin to a position such that the wire is gripped securely between the eccentric cam 69 and the plate 68. The purpose of the wire feed trip is to prevent wire from being fed into the machine unless a button is in place to receive it. Unless there is a button under the feed lever the pin 71 will not en-. gage the arm so as to permit the wire to pass through. The wire, on being fed through the wire feed trip, passes through the groove in the plate 68 between the front end of the cut off ram and the staple forming block 72. Said staple forming block extends downwardly between the guide plates 17, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. There is a coil. spring 74 under a head 73 on the lower end of said block, adapted to force said block upwardly into its engaging position, where it is held while the cut off rain passes it and cuts off the wire, which it forces around said block so as to form a staple 75, as shown in Fig. 10. There is a shoulder on said out off ram, as shown in Fig. 8, which engages a shoulder on said staple forming block and forces it downwardly against the spring 7 1-, so as to allow the button, staple, and staple driver to ride over it. The staple driver is then permitted to pass over saidblock and come in contact with the staple forming anvil, where the staple and button, as shown in Fig. 13, are

forced against said anvil by the staple driver. The ends of the staple are kept from spreading outwardly by means of the cut oil "am being held against said anvil, while the continued movement of said staple driver clenches the wire, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13.

In order to prevent buttons from entering the button race in the wrong position, there is a plate 76 fulcrumed at 77 in the slot of the main button race adapted to be thrown outwardly therethrough, as shown in Fig. 6, with enough impetus to throw a button oil' of the race unless it is held therein by its eye. Said plate is engaged by pins 78 and 79 so that the movement of the plate 23 will lower the button engaging end of the plate 76 so as to allow the buttons to pass on down the race. This prevents overturned buttons from sliding down and being in the way of the other buttons and stopping the proper feeding of the buttons.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Then the machine is in inoperative position, or at rest, there is a button gripped by the button feed finger with a wire extended therethrough in a position to be cut off and the button feed plate is at its lower position ready to gather buttons from the hopper on its upward movement. lVhen the pedal is pushed down, the plate 23 is raised with buttons gathered from the hopper in position to enter the race, the button feed finger leaves the button in place and is raised up over the button gate 35 to grip a second button. The cut off ram is pushed downwardly and cuts off the wire which has been inserted through the eye of the button and forms it into a staple around the staple forming block. The staple forming block is then forced downward out of the way and the staple driver pushes the staple against the anvil where it is clenched, all substantially as shown in Fig. 7 When the pedal is raised, the plate 23 is lowered in position to pick up more buttons, the feed finger drops down inside of the gate and grips a button, moving it downward in position to receive wire through its eye, the feed finger engages the arm 70 and allows the wire to pass in position to be cut, and the staple forming block is returned to operative position, substantially as shown in Fig. 6. The operations are thereafter repeated as described. Thus a complete operation of the machine is obtained by the two movements of pressing down and releasing the foot pedal.

The invention claimed is:

1. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race, an operating member, a cut-off ram slidable in said frame, a staple driver slidable in said ram, yielding means on said cut-off ram, and a pro jection on said member for engaging said means and yieldingly operating said ram.

2. A button attaching machine including a frame work, a button race, a disk, means for operating said disk, a cut off ram slidable in said frame, a staple driver slidable in said ram, yielding means on said cut off ram, and a pin on said disk for engaging said means and yieldingly operating said ram.

3. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race, a cut off ram slidable in said frame, a staple driver slidable in said ram, a spring secured to the lower side of said ram, a cam lever pivoted to the end of said ram for engaging the end of said spring and means operated by said machine for engaging said cam lever and forcing it against said spring so as to yieldingly operate said ram.

4.. A button attaching machine including aframework, a button race, a staple forming block at one end of said race, a cut ofi ram slidable in said frame, a staple driver slidable in said ram, means connected with said machine for feeding wire in said machine, a staple forming anvil, a disk, means for operating said disk, yielding means on said cut ofl ram, and a pin-on said disk for engaging said means and yieldingly operating said ram.

5. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race, a staple forming block at the end of said race, a cut off ram slidable in said frame, a staple driver slidable in said ram, a plate spring secured to the lower side of said ram, a cam lever piv a framework, a button race thereon, means for feeding wire into said machine, and an eccentric wheel adapted to clench said wire and release it only when there is a button in position to receive it.

7. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button feed finger, a finger operated by said machine for feeding wire therein, an eccentric wheel adapted to clench said wire, and an arm on said wheel adapted V to be engaged by said button feed finger for releasing said wire only when there is a button in position to receive it.

8. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race thereon, a button feed finger adapted to engage a button on said race, an eccentric wheel for engaging and disengaging the wire to be fed into said machine, and means on said wheel adapted to be engaged by said button feed finger when raised by a button so as to release said wire. v

9. A button attaching machine including a framework, a plate on said frame having a slot therein through which wire is adapted to be fed, and an eccentric wheel on said frame adapted to engage said wire and hold it therein unless there is a button in position to receive it.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

10. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race thereon, a button feed finger adapted to engage a button on said race, a plate onsaid frame having a slot therein through which wire is adapted to be fed, an eccentric wheel on said plate for engaging and disengaging said wire in said slot, and means on said wheel adapted to be engaged by said button feed finger when raised by a button so as to release the wire to be fed therethrough.

11. A button attaching machine including a framework, a button race thereon, a button feed finger adapted to engage a button on said race, a plate on said frame having a slot therein, means for feeding wire through said slot, an eccentric wheel on said plate adapted to engage or disengage said wire, an arm extending from said wheel adapted to be engaged by said feed finger when elevated by a button so that the wire will be released by said wheel to be fed into said button, and a spring connected to said wheel for returning it to position for engaging said wire, thereby preventing its being fed into said machine when there is no button under said feed finger forelevating it to engage said arm.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto WltIlGSSQS herein named.

LORA nrooLn.

afiixed my si nature in the presence of the Witnesses 'CHAR Es K. BAGOT, DOROTHY OSSENBERG.

Washington, D. G. 

